Fulbright Kid

I have a collection of children's movies in Egyptian Arabic from when I lived in Cairo. The DVD cover for Up with its colorful balloons and fun-looking characters always tempted my son and he used to beg me to watch it. He would not accept my explanation that it isn't in English and it eventually occurred to me that he had no idea what that meant. He had no exposure to foreign languages and thought I was just making excuses. One day, I acquiesced and popped it in the DVD player. He stared at the screen for 2 minutes with his mouth agape before asking me to turn it off.

My son is a loud and friendly kid. He will talk to anyone on the street and he insists on yelling across restaurants to talk with the waitstaff. After 6 months in Jordan, he is finally starting to ask people if they speak English before jabbering away at them and while he still doesn't ask this of other kids on the playground, he has learned to play with everyone whether they speak English or not. He is learning some Arabic in school and when he needs to calm down, we count to ten together in Arabic.

In addition to learning about different languages, he has learned quite a bit about Jordanian culture. He knows that the call to prayer means people think about God at least five times a day and that he can't play with his friends on Fridays since that is a day for families to spend together. He has also learned that the bidet is not a small toilet and that in Jordan wasting water with a long shower might mean we run out of water until our tank gets refilled on Sunday nights.

He has a culture class in school where he learns about traditions from around the world. He chose our Christmas destination of Athens because he had been learning about Greek gods and now that they are discussing Indian traditions and holidays, he wants to visit India for Diwali. A Chinese classmate has him excited about the prospect of visiting China and he can't wait for our upcoming trip to Egypt. When he looks at a map, he no longer sees far off places but he views the world as something to explore. And when he sees that a movie is in a foreign language he knows that while he can't understand it there are millions of people who can and that learning the language will not only allow him to understand the movie but will enable him to meet new people and explore new places.

Abstract Algebra in Indonesia

With my abstract algebra students in Indonesia

Mathematics knows no races or geographic boundaries; for mathematics, the cultural world is one country. – David Hilbert

The Hilbert quote above embodies one of my favorite things about being a mathematician. My job has taken me around the world including conferences in Portugal, France, and India and collaborated with colleagues from Spain and Egypt.

Last November, I had the opportunity to teach an algebra course at the Universitas Bung Hatta in Padang, Indonesia.

My visit was coordinated through the Volunteer Lecturer Program of the International Mathematical Union. They bring mathematicians to universities in developing countries to teach courses. I learned a lot about math education in Indonesia and I think I made a positive impact on the students' education.

By spending three weeks living in Padang, shopping in the local market, and talking with students and faculty at the university I got a real sense of daily life in West Sumatra and a better understanding of life outside of the United States.